I have to get this off my chest about the new Mercedes cars

Hi Larry,

I should have written that sentence a bit better, yes I love your version, that's a great car. I also meant that I'd may risk going for the round headlighted e-class (upto 99) as well as your one.

I'm no troll, and I know a lot of people agree with me in what I say. Hell, I used to take my cars to perhaps the most respected independant MB garage in the UK (his main repairs are to the classic 600's, Gullwings etc as well as the modern ones) - yes, just to have my plan W123s serviced there. He confided in me that Mercedes lost it around

1992, the quality of the parts is nothing compared to what they used to be back then and before. And he refuses to even touch the v-class !!

I just hate marketing hype - believe me, MB will pay the price. Maybe never in sales, but in some way (maybe as not being recognised as the great car manufacturer it once was).

It's just so sad that to me, look at quality and VW are actually better than MB (in europe) today.....

Reply to
Tosher
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Hi Roddy,

Oh do expect them to be petty....trust me on that one.

Just you keep driving that old w123, they are the best.

In fact the new fully loaded car I had was a c220cdi, 2001 model. Lovely car (aren't all new cars lovely at first) but then I noticed that it wasn't perfect (wasn't the MB motto "the best or nothing" ??). Awful turbo lag and silly little things done on the cheap like, alloy wheels which started bubbling after first 5 months and needed to be replaced, plastic roof strips coming away after a lengthy drive, plastic hinges which even an idiot could see wouldn't last after several usages. But, I loved the dash board layout (for once an MB dash that worked !). Oh yeah, forgot, also the paintwork on the front of the car was chipping after only a few thousand miles (wonder why they've redesigned this now ??). Oh yes, and when I sold it, after one year (yes, I know not the way to own a car, but I needed to), it lost over 33% in depreciation (I thought MB's were value cars ??.

I've owned 2 W123s and they are simply the best. My one that got stolen was just a plain vanilla 200d, bit too slow (I'd have prefered a 300d) but it was a great 20year old car. Sooooo solid. My other one was a w123 280ce, beautiful car, so solid on the motorway and a great cruiser around town etc.

It's just like you say, MBs of old do last 20-40 years that's what made them great. But the current crop, I can't see lasting as long. Too much plastic/electronics. And clear signs of cost-cutting. Shame.

BTW, the A8 you mention is just outrageously awesome - they depreciate like hell though. But I'll definitely look at buying one one day (a nice 3-4 year old) when I'm ready.

Reply to
Tosher

Take a close look at the first generation CLK.

Coupe right ??

Wrong, look closely.....

Reply to
Tosher

"Ditto--snob appeal is the only calling card--i speak from experience--from snob to practicle thank you.."

The above was sent to me to my email account, so I'll keep it anonymous.

Reply to
Tosher

Well, it's too soon for me to comment. Let's see what happens to the W140 S class in another 60,000 plus miles. If it is doing well, I will be favorably impressed with at least the 99 model year. If it is a junk heap requiring constant repairs, I will no longer own it.

Too soon to tell. However, I can certainly appreciate VWs, Audis, older Benzes as well. But then, I just love cars in general.

Larry

99 S420 96 Dodge Viper
Reply to
REInvestments
I

My 2001 c320 sport wagon stickered for $48,000 (I could have bought an A6 or an allroad and got all wheel drive for the same price)... I am very dissapointed... and even more dissapointed with MBUSA response (offered $3,000 for all my troubles!).

so far I have had the following problems:

Window auto close malfunction.

Several bulbs blowing out prematurely.

Air bag sensor malfunction - several times.

Voice recognition malfunctioning on and off for 2 years ­ Still not fixed

Seat / steering wheel / mirror memory problems 10 plus visits - Still not fixed

Wood trim coming off (dash & shifter area) 4 visits

Heater vent problems 3 visits

Gas gauge malfunction.

Cargo area cover unlatching. 2 visits

Cargo area seal leaking ­ Still not fixed

Driver door seal leaking 2 times and Still not fixed.

Hatchback not latching for several visits.

Steering wheel grinding problems

Fog lamp ³fogging² on two occasions.

Floor mats latch broke.

Sway bushings went bad

Lower control arm went bad.

Mass flow sensor had to be replaced

Mirror reverse problems.

Key malfunction

Seatbelt jamming 3 visits

Window trim leaking 2 visits

Hatchback trim leaking 2 visits

Doors rattling 3 visits - Still not fixed

Dash rattling 5 visits (every time they "fix" it, the rattle "moves" to another spot) -Still not fixed.

Cup holder breaks 3 visits

Back seats not latching 2 visits

Ceiling panel loose in cargo area

SOS malfunction on several occasions (they found nothing even after the dash read "see repair shop")

Replaced rear window washer fluid pump.

Reply to
Rich Williamson

Hi Rich,

Sorry to hear of your problems, they sound like a *lot* more than I had.

But I forgot to add a few more that I had;

Airconiditioning (in fact I opted for the *luxury climate control*, we won't argue even that the design of this was awfully slow in operation (I wrote to MB Headquarters about this I was so surprised that a designer couldn't have forseen this) but it operated very inefficiently. I had it checked it took them 1.5days and they said it was working normally (remember "the best or nothing")

Fog lamps kept getting condensation and so were replaced (MB accepted this was a design fault)

Driver's seat moved around corners (MB accept this as a common design fault)

I too had various problems with the auto reversing mirror.

Reply to
Tosher

I'm terrified with this post. Just posted another message asking if I shd buy an '03 C240 XS. Coming from a Volvo '98 V70 R AWD- horror show of a car. I will never buy a Volvo again- after having owned 4!

Reply to
deborah nixon

All I can say is that this report is anecdotal and not statistically significant. The same can be said for my experience, posted here as well, which is almost diametrically opposed. No significant problems since July 2002.

Kal

Reply to
Kalman Rubinson

Rich Williamson wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.verizon.net:

I would tell your dealer that unless they swap it out for a new one you're going to your State AG and every TV station in town. Certainly enough here to meet most any state's "lemon law" threshold.

Reply to
ArchieLeach

Where have you the proof that it's not statistically significant ??

This stuff happens, it's quite simple. That's why people report it here.

Reply to
Tosher

To be fair I had problems with my 1998 Volvo XC too.

I do understand that a lot of my problems have been removed in the newer models...this could be my fault for buying a model that was in it's second year of production in the 2001 models... I do believe that my car is a lemon, and I am pretty sure tha not all c320 are like this...but I have heard rumblings at the dealership service counter that C owners are frequent visitors.

Reply to
Rich Williamson

Any single report is, in and of itself, not statistically significant in a situation where there are many possible samples. That's by definition.

Agreed and certainly of interest.

Kal

Reply to
Kalman Rubinson

I don't understand your beef here.

If you are to reply in this standard manner to each and every post then sure you are going to catch reports on a singular basis.....

Errmm yeah which doesn't make *them* singular then does it ?

Maybe you want me to purchase a thousand cars and then report in one singular instance the problems with that sample of vehicles.

Sorry, no can do.

Reply to
Tosher

Sure you can take this view and I do not raise this issue all the time, only whe I think it important. My comment was intended to make the point that individual reports, mine as well as yours, are just single events. They may or may not be representative of the entire population of experiences. That does not invalidate them.

Each one is.

Too bad. That might provide some really useful info. ;-)

Kal

Reply to
Kalman Rubinson

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